By Martyn Gorse,
Wessex Wyverns V Kings Cross Steelers RFC
On Saturday Januray 21st 2015, Wessex Wyverns travelled to East London to take on the King's Cross Steelers 3rd XV in our fourth ever match.
It was a bright and sunny day but crisp and cold… perfect weather for rugby. Wyverns brought a squad of 17 in total and were up against a side that, while inexperienced, had strength in numbers with a squad of around 40 in total to choose from. The game was set to play with rolling substitutions so the Wyverns were at a distinct disadvantage from the start.
The game was a back and forth affair… Wyverns opened the scoring in the first quarter with a well worked try from Number 9, Bob N., popping up on the wing to take the ball over the line.
The Steelers were able to hit back and the tries went between the sides with the two sides swapping the leading position through the game. Steeler's 9 Jonathan Cook, made a number of impactive runs and kept his side in the game.
The Wyverns were on the receiving end of some unfortunate refereeing decisions and late in the first half Number 8, Andrew Lewis, was given a yellow card and ten minutes in the sin bin for challenging the referee's decisions with perhaps too much passion. Unfortunately, the Steelers took advantage of the 14 man opposition by taking one of their tries against the reduced team.
The lead changed hands during the second half however during the last quarter the Wyverns had established a 7 point lead and applied full pressure to The Steelers in their 22 metre area. Centre Nick Vaux and wing Eric Perkins both came close to scoring but desperate defence from the Steelers kept them out and the game finished 22-15.
All 4 Wyverns tries came from the number 9, however the game was a real team effort with players supporting each other all over the pitch.
The Wyverns' man of the match was Hooker Steve Lock who made a number of impressive runs and challenged the Steelers defence throughout the game. Andrew Lewis was nominated by The Steelers as their Wyvern man of the match.
This marked an important day for Wessex Wyverns RFC as we recorded our club's first ever win and it came against a side that were able to constantly refresh their players. We look forward to hosting The Steelers in the return fixtiure on February 28th at Millbrook RFC in another first - our first home fixture.
Wyverns side:
1 - Mark Makeman
2 - Steve Lock
3 - Tony Elias
4 - Gary Mitcheson
5 - Martyn Gorse
6 - Diego Dominguez
7 - Scott Sumner
8 - Andrew Lewis
9 - Bob N.
10 - Kev Morgan
11 - Craif Evans
12 - Joe Michel
13 - Nick Vaux
14 - Eric Perkins
15 - Sean Finn
Bench:
Steve Melhuish
Lee Barker
Picture by: Patrick Hughes